SAFETY REMINDER!!!

[FEENIX]

This is a non-usesful anecdote swithout caliber, cartridge, load and what was going on at the time. As is, we just have an admonition to be careful; got it.

See #7 and #13.

 

[Ryo]

I had a client recently have a mishap that could have been deadly had he been directly behind the rifle.
He is a knowledgeable and accomplished shooter, so it can happen to anyone.
It was a freakish occurrence that sheared the bolt lugs off a custom action. A piece of metal went through his shoulder and another piece lodged in his hand!
The police found what was left of the bolt 40+ feet from where he pulled the trigger.
PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

I'm a bit confused.. he wasn't behind the rifle when he shot it but got hurt?

What was he doing? Shooting a new rifle or doing a load test? Something seriously went wrong for him to get hurt.

 

[jasonco]

That's unfortunate event of circumstances!

Low case fill, in "magnum" cartridges, with ball propellant, has always been a dangerous thing. When using ball propellant, get that case close to or max fill, in whatever cartridge really.

 

[elkaholic]

I'm a bit confused.. he wasn't behind the rifle when he shot it but got hurt?

What was he doing? Shooting a new rifle or doing a load test? Something seriously went wrong for him to get hurt.

He was pointing the muzzle at the ground, so the rifle wasn't shouldered.

 

[arch408]

Without specifics, your warning means NOTHING!

 

[lyle2231]

My grandad had an old Remington model 8 in 35 Remington. He loaded reduced loads and filled the empty space in the case with cotton batting. He cast his own bullets and used it for plinking. There was not enough gas pressure to cycle the action, he had to cycle it by hand. Had to clean it often, the lead and the cotton would plug up the gas ports. He gave me the " don't try this at home" speech about reduced loads, said it was too dangerous. I took his word for it and never tried it. Far as I remember, that's the only gun he ever shot a reduced load in.

FWIW.

My grandad had an old Remington model 8 in 35 Remington. He loaded reduced loads and filled the empty space in the case with cotton batting. He cast his own bullets and used it for plinking. There was not enough gas pressure to cycle the action, he had to cycle it by hand. Had to clean it often, the lead and the cotton would plug up the gas ports. He gave me the " don't try this at home" speech about reduced loads, said it was too dangerous. I took his word for it and never tried it. Far as I remember, that's the only gun he ever shot a reduced load in.

I worked up loads for.303 British with 4320 but stuffed daycron in the case to hold powder against the base with cast bullets. Lyman cast bullet manual was a great asset
HTH.

 

[yorke-1]

Without specifics, your warning means NOTHING!

That's a concerning statement. The absence of specific details in the original post doesn't take anything away from the seriousness of the bigger problem. Whether it was using a reduced load of Red Dot in a rifle chambering or trying to reduce a charge of H110 in a handgun the message is the same; loading ammunition is dangerous!

 

[dluehrs]

Hey guys, on the shotgun side, I remember many years ago we were just kids and a buddy of mine started reloading his 20 gauge, we would hunt cotton tails for our Moms for the winter, well at the time we had a great time laughing about his reloads because half of them were bloopers and it looked like you just took a hand full of BBs and threw them at the rabbits because it didnt hurt them one bit, luckily nothing bad ever happened and how many times have stupid little things happened since we were kids that we got away with, I had a factory 7 Ultra Mag. used it for several years no problems, then one night went to the range to check zero for deer hunting , closed the bolt on the bench and it went off, scared the **** out of me, I stood up checked it out , nothing wrong that I could see, sat down , got ready again and shut the bolt and it went off again, lucky its pointing down range, packed up and went home, next day a buddy calls and says have you ever had trouble with a factory Rem. trigger, I said a YUP,,, playing with fireworks , driving, cell phones, when Im driving Semi and look down at each car I pass or dodge around, 98 out of 100 of them are on the phone texting and they want to take our guns away. Anyway back to what I was gitting at, lots of dumb laughs about the bloopers and then years later when I was trap shooting, I had just got to the range in time to see a guy get carried off the range with a just some thumb bone left on his shooting hand,, they were shooting doubles that night and he had a blooper the first shot and the wad didnt clear the barrel and he tried to get the second shot off right after the miss fire cause they were doing doubles yu know and bloop__KABOOOM !!!

Take care everyone, and stay safe, think back and count our blessings.

I used to purposely load blooper loads as a kid for bird control in the barn. Strong enough to kill a bird but not strong enough to go through the roof. It was a red dot load. Playing with fire and lucky we never got hurt... I worked at a gun club so I knew enough to make sure the wad cleared. Sometimes it didn't. Bad news when a good firearm goes bad because of self stupidity. When we are careless bad things happen. Stay safe.

 

[RAGGED EDGE]

Not all mishaps can be attributed to stupidity. Some can be caused by ignorance. There is absolutely nothing wrong, IMO, with working up a reduced load using proven data from reputable sources.

 

[Mike Matteson]

Find a rifle that matches what your are trying to achieve. If you can't take the recoil, get a lighter recoil rifle. Muzzle brake is another recoil reduction devise. A magnum type rifle is to develop more mv, and fpe to reach your target at longer ranges. Less drop and wind correction problems. So why use a Magnum when they are not built to shoot low velocity type ammo? There is plenty of low velocity rifles out there. To me a rifle and load development is around what I am going to use the rifle for, what I can handle, animals that I am going to hunt, or match shoots. Use a high velocity cartridge not besigned for low velocities, doesn't work. The flip side is. Trying to make a lower velocity cartridge to shoot higher velocity doesn't cut either.
I am glad that he wasn't hurt any worse that he was, and it's lesson for all of us.

 

[FEENIX]

I had a client recently have a mishap that could have been deadly had he been directly behind the rifle.
He is a knowledgeable and accomplished shooter, so it can happen to anyone.
It was a freakish occurrence that sheared the bolt lugs off a custom action. A piece of metal went through his shoulder and another piece lodged in his hand!
The police found what was left of the bolt 40+ feet from where he pulled the trigger.
PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

Rich,

I know you have the best intentions in reminding us about safety, and I am thankful for that regardless of cause or information you might have. Cheers!

Ed

 

[elkaholic]

Rich,

I know you have the best intentions in reminding us about safety, and I am thankful for that regardless of cause or information you might have. Cheers!

Ed

Thank you Ed! That means a lot to me.
I don't have ALL the info, and my intent wasn't to embarrass the client or anyone else. From what I gathered, he was using a powder with a similar burn rate as 4350, but an off brand, because of the shortages. And some of the variables, that have been mentioned, likely developed a perfect storm! Enough info to be valuable, IMO.

 

[FEENIX]

Thank you Ed! That means a lot to me.
I don't have ALL the info, and my intent wasn't to embarrass the client or anyone else. From what I gathered, he was using a powder with a similar burn rate as 4350, but an off brand because of the shortages.any of the variables, that have been mentioned, developed a perfect storm! Enough info to be valuable, IMO.

You are correct, Sir; it is indeed a valuable lesson to pass on. What the recipients do with the information is another story.

Ed

 

[Pdvdh]

When I researched reduced load powders ~2-3 years ago, the only two of their powders Hodgdon advised for reduced powder charge use were Trailboss and H4895.